OGIS Director appointed; another good step forward for FOIA

The National Archives announced today that Miriam Nisbet has been appointed as the first director of the new Office of Government Information Services, which Congress created in 2007 to mediate FOIA disputes and recommend improvements to FOIA operations.

"While the federal FOIA mediator's office is still a long way from mediating its first FOIA dispute, it took a strong step forward today with the naming of its new director, Miriam Nisbet," said Rick Blum, coordinator of the Sunshine in Government Initiative. "She's a long-time advocate for open government, and this is a promising start for those who want the FOIA to work better."

For more, read the SGI statement. 2009-06-10

White House takes input on Open Gov't Directive

The White House is taking ideas for what should go into the Open Government Directive, which President Obama called for in one if his first acts as president.

NextGov's Aliya Sternstein gives more context to the White House initiative. The public is encouraged to post suggestions for encouraging collaboration, transparency, participation & collaboration until May 28, 2009. Those ideas will be turned into specific ideas for further public discussion, after which the public will be asked to help craft wording for the Open Government Directive itself.

FOIA still means access is delayed, SGI analysis shows

April 13, 2009 -- Federal agencies continue to give those seeking information through the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, a frustrating and oftentimes unsatisfying experience, an analysis of federal agency reports shows. With fewer staff on FOIA, costs are rising and agency backlogs (33 percent of requests processed) remained unchanged in 2008.

"These numbers paint a baseline for measuring the impact of President Obama's Day One policies on transparency," said Rick Blum, coordinator of SGI. "If agencies improve their operations year after year, the Day One policy on disclosure will have made a substantial impact," Blum said, referring to the president's policy directing federal agencies to err on the side of disclosure when in doubt.

Among other things those reports show that:

* Falling behind. While the top 25 agencies processed 398,607 requests in 2008, about one-third (130,539) of that number remain backlogged, a rate unchanged from the year before

* More denied. Agencies completely denied the highest percentage (44 percent) of requests since performance reporting began

* Fewer responding. Departments and agencies cut FOIA personnel

* Each response costs more. The average cost of processing requests jumped from $294 in 1998 to $611 in 2008.

The full report and charts are available here.

Read the full press release. [pdf]

AG Holder issues new FOIA memo

Attorney General Eric Holder today issued a letter to agencies providing guidelines for responding to requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The guidelines issued are more disclosure-friendly than the previous policy issued in 2001. 2009-03-19

Congress invests $1 million in OGIS (SGI Release)

March 11,2009

Freedom of information hit a milestone yesterday when Congress approved the budget for fiscal year 2009 and included $1 million for the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), which Congress established within the National Archives and Records Administration to mediate disputes and recommend improvements to the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The Sunshine in Government Initiative hailed the funding as a stimulus for transparency efforts. "This is an important step towards having a fully functioning FOIA ombudsman," said Rick Blum, coordinator of the Sunshine in Government Initiative. "For too many years, government transparency has been in crisis. As we celebrate Sunshine Week next week, journalists, bloggers and average citizens can celebrate knowing this office will soon help ensure requests for data and documents get a fair hearing. OGIS should help end stalemates and lengthy delays when faced with controversies over disclosure decisions. This investment will help agencies strengthen their responses to FOIA requests."

SGI Statement on President Obama's Transparency in Government Orders

Statement of Rick Blum, Coordinator of the Sunshine in Government Initiative

January 21, 2009

"It's wonderful that Priority One on Day One for this administration is transparency and restoring public trust," said Rick Blum, coordinator of the Sunshine in Government Initiative. President Obama has made strong statements that should have lasting impact on how the government operates. "Yesterday's policy of 'When in doubt, leave it out,' today became, 'When it doubt, let it out.' And this policy will help keep the public informed in our technology-driven, connected society. On open government, the dawn is breaking."

Read the press release.

CJR: News media fights back against secrecy

CJR looks back at the Bush years and forward to the new administration.

CJR's Clint Hendler chronicles the growth in government secrecy under President George Bush and looks at the way media groups fought back. Hendler's piece is part of CJR's transparency package in the January issue of the magazine, which includes an editorial noting ways the Obama administration can strengthen transparency (thanks for mentioning SGI!). CJR will be posting more online on transparency from the January issue, and CJR's Clint Hendler will be reporting on all things transparency.

2009-01-15